One of the reasons I’m not falling into despair after the passing of California Prop 8 is that I know the culture is changing very fast, and that in time it will fall. Religious, and particularly Christian, appeals to anti-gay hate and fear will appeal to fewer and fewer people. Two problems there:
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I’m having unformed thoughts, and rather than trying to get them all ironed out, I thought I would open the floor.
What is the simplest church you know of? Simple in organization, mission, membership, finances and leadership. What do you think the simplest church could be? What “complications” — even hallowed ones — would you vote […]
Ah, another lost article, but more pertinent than ever. (I knew I had written it, but it was tucked away for the last two years as a “private” post.)
The de facto Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) church planting model of the last half-century is to follow the population to the growing ‘burbs, serving as regional centers. […]
I think we should look at Micropolitan areas — cities of 10,000 to 49,999 souls — as likely areas for encouraging new congregation growth. The United States has 538 such locations and glancing through the list I could easily pick out several that had no Unitarian Universalist congregation — some had none within quite a […]
Let me know in the comments or through the contact page. It seems I need to add writers. Bummer.
In my mind’s eye, I imagine a new congregation organizing team having working meeting with a laptop and an Internet connection knocking out all manner of little tasks that once took more time and effort.
A new church in the United States is going to need an Employee Identification Number to hire anyone or open a […]
To be listed as an emerging congregation at UUA.org, “the group should have either a meeting address or working website or both.”
Hmm. One can be almost free of charge, with community support to develop and maintain and is an important communications and resources channel; the other is costly, difficult to acquire and maintain and might […]
Chris Walton (Philocrites) asks:
Have you seen the Emerging UU Congregational Resources website? It’s a joint project of the Central Midwest and Pacific Northwest districts.
I hadn’t — hereafter I’ll refer to it by the more memorable EmergingUU.org — so gave it a look.
Funny, but I had never heard of it, so I’m thinking it’s in a […]
The Church-planters mailing list, after a bout of listlessness (get it?), is stirring back to life. To join, click here. (You need not be a Unitarian Universalist, just civil and interested.)
I’m going to take a couple of days to consider the issue of congregational growth in the Unitarian Universalist Association.
So I asked myself: How many emerging congregations — organizations in formation and those (once covenanted) that plan to join the Unitarian Universalist Association — are there? Their number is a good indicator of the UUA’s […]
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